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BANGKOK (REUTERS) – Thailand plans to test more than 10,000 people after a record daily increase in coronavirus cases to more than 500, most of which were among migrant workers linked to a shrimp market near the capital, said an official on Sunday (December 20). .
By Wednesday, authorities aim to conduct 10,300 tests in the southwestern province of Samut Sakhon, where the outbreak appeared, and in nearby provinces such as Samut Songkhram and Nakhon Pathom, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, spokesperson for Thailand’s Covid-19 task force, said in a press conference.
“Findings of active cases will continue in several provinces, indeed throughout the country,” he said. Thailand, the first country outside of China to report coronavirus infections, has largely kept the outbreak under control, with 4,907 cases and 60 deaths.
On Sunday, Thailand confirmed 576 new infections, including 516 cases of migrant workers announced locally the day before.
The new cases include 19 locally transmitted cases in Bangkok and Samut Sakhon province, where the 516 infections were also found.
All of them were linked to the shrimp market in Samut Sakhon.
There were also 41 imported cases.
Most of the migrant workers in Samut Sakhon are from Myanmar, which has seen an outbreak far worse than Thailand’s, where health authorities attribute early action to limiting the spread of the virus.
Other Southeast Asian countries, including Singapore and Malaysia, have also reported thousands of cases among migrant workers.
The increase in cases in Thailand comes just as it seeks to revive a tourism industry devastated by the pandemic.
On Thursday, it eased restrictions to allow more foreign tourists to return.
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